1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reel locking device for locking the fishing reel onto the fishing rod.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a reel locking device such as that disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Print No. 57-27245 is used to lock the fishing reel onto the fishing rod.
FIG. 20 shows the reel locking device disclosed in the above laid-open print, in which device the reel leg is locked onto a reel seat body 11 by mounting the reel leg of the fishing reel which is not illustrated herein on the reel seat body 11 between a front hood (first hood) 13 and a rear hood (second hood) 15 which are positioned vis-a-vis a specified distance apart along the length of the shaft of the reel seat body 11 and then moving the front hood 13 along the reel seat body 11 toward the rear hood 15 by rotating a lock ring 19 which mates with an external thread section 17 of the reel seat body 11.
A fishing rod employing a conventional reel locking device normally uses the following two operations for fishing. One is fishing in which a boat rod is used and the front of the reel seat body is grasped. In this case, the tip of the fishing rod is raised, the reel is positioned immediately below the hands and fastened, and the front grip is principally used during fishing operations. The other is fishing in which the fishing rod is supported in the armpit of the angler as in squid fishing in Japan and the underside or the rear of the reel seat body is grasped. The rod tip is lowered while still supported in the armpit, the reel is fastened and locked at the front of the reel seat body, and the underside or the rear of the reel seat body is grasped during fishing operations.
An explanation of these two fishing operations follows. FIG. 21 shows an example of the former type of fishing. When attaching a large size fishing reel 4 such as a double bearing reel to a fishing rod 1, a reel leg 5 is locked by lowering a base 2 of the fishing rod 1 and raising a rod tip 3, inserting the reel leg 5 in the rear hood 15 near the base of the fishing rod 1, and rotating the lock ring 19 which is positioned in front of the front hood 13, thereby moving the front hood 13 toward the rear hood 15.
However, with the conventional reel locking device, when rotating the lock ring 19 as shown in FIG. 21, there is a problem that the fishing reel 4 is a hindrance to the hands and it is extremely difficult to rotate the lock ring 19.
Also, when a fish is caught on the fishing rod 1 and pumping operations are effected, since the lock ring 19 is located near the grip in front of the fishing reel 4, there is a problem that the lock ring 19 is a hindrance to the hands and it is difficult to grasp the grip tightly.
On the other hand, in the latter type of fishing, as shown in FIG. 22, when attaching a large size fishing reel 4 such as a double bearing reel to the fishing rod 1, the reel leg 5 is locked with the rod tip 3 of the fishing rod 1 lowered while the base 2 of the fishing rod 1 is supported in the armpit 7 of an angular 6, inserting the reel leg 5 into the rear hood 15 on the side of the tip of the fishing rod 1, and rotating the lock ring 19 which is positioned in front of the front hood 13, thereby moving the front hood 13 toward the rear hood 15.
However, with the conventional reel locking device, since the lock ring 19 rubs against the inner side of the left arm of the angler 6 (on which side the reel is gripped) as shown in FIG. 22, pain is caused to the angler 6.